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Prior to the Great War of 2077, Bethesda was a major town in the DC area. There were metro and city liner services for this city, and north of Bethesda is an old monorail train. As the west-east highway ends in the city, another highway traveling north passes through the area. The city has a local park, named after the largest employer in this city, where baseball was regularly played.

The raiders have barricaded most of the streets leading to the ruins with crudely constructed structures and derelict vehicles. There are also some mines in a small, grassy area to the south, next to Bethesda offices east.

In between the two office buildings is a walkway connecting them with a raider carrying a sniper rifle near two ammunition boxes containing a random amount of .308 caliber rounds. Further east (roughly east by southeast) is the metro entrance to Bethesda underworks.

West of the entrance to the Bethesda offices west, at the Red Rocket gas station in the outskirts, there is a random encounter location.

Mostly reception and office space, Bethesda offices west is home to a considerable number of raiders. The cramped confines of the building render most hard-hitting long-range weapons ineffective, as they become unwieldy when turning corners and investigating small rooms.

Much of the east building is made up of small offices, with more cramped fighting conditions as a result. Extensive damage to the building also includes large gaps and holes in the floor, making fighting on the upper floor treacherous in places. In the small room with two cubicles, the Lone Wanderer can find a Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual laying on top of the desk in the left cubicle. There is a raider boss here, armed with a flamer and carrying a U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes skill book in their inventory, as well as the Bobblehead - Lockpick behind them. There is also a workbench in the room with some miscellaneous supplies. The raider respawns after 72 game-hours.[1]

In Bethesda offices west, in the room with the shotgun trap, there is a refrigerator filled with chopped up wastelander body parts. A chopping board and bucket nearby are filled with meat. This implies that the Bethesda raiders are cannibals, consuming wastelanders unfortunate enough to encounter them.

If the Lone Wanderer accesses the sewers, ghouls may spawn above ground in the ruins, leading to a fight between them and raiders.

Given its location and the presence of a workbench, this may be an ideal place for an early player base, though the respawning enemies is something to keep in mind for the long term.

xbox360 All the ghouls in the underworks may spawn right outside of the tunnel entrance, remaining inactive unless the player engages them. [verified]

pcps3xbox360 If running the map marker on the Bethesda Ruins, it will lead southeast of the Bethesda Ruins, instead of going there directly. [verified]

pcps3 The raiders of Bethesda Ruins respawn, as well as the one with the flamer with the U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes book included, providing a infinite source for the big guns skill book. [verified]